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Alfa Romeo Misses Profit Target For 2017, But Losses Are Shrinking

Sergio Marchionne promised when he unveiled the revival plan for Alfa Romeo that the brand would sell 400,000 vehicles by 2018 thanks to the introduction of eight all-new models. It’s 2018, and other than the Giulia and Stelvio, the revival announced in 2014 leaves much to be desired.
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Photo: Dragos Savu for Alfa Romeo Romania
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To understand how poorly things are going at Alfa Romeo, bear in mind the automaker doesn’t release production or sales figures. Be that as it may, estimates from the Federazione Italiana Metalmeccanici for 2017 stand at 150,722 cars produced in the past year, up from 93,117 in 2016.

Despite this development, Alfa Romeo is still far off the target. As a consequence of that and the ongoing investments in Giorgio platform-based products, Automotive News reports the Italian automaker has missed its profit target once again. Marchionne assures that “losses are shrinking,” though the company needs more volume to make ends meet.

How will Alfa Romeo get the additional volume it needs to badly? Introduce a second crossover utility vehicle, of course! There’s also plan for a C-segment model (probably a hatchback) and the new 6C sports car. The big sales figures and profit margins, however, will come from the Stelvio and new SUV.

Marchionne is blaming slower than expected sales in the United States and “behind the curve” performance in China for the 2017 results, but that’s half of the story. The other half has to do with the global dealership network, which in comparison to FCA sweetheart Jeep, it’s a bit lacking.

It was only recently that the sweater-wearing Marchionne told the media that Alfa Romeo still is innursery school,” announcing that “it’s going to take until 2022 to see the full effect” of the revival. That’s four years off the original deadline, which goes to show how many things Alfa Romeo needs to address before it can prove its worth within the Fiat Chrysler group.

But as the old saying goes, easy does it.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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